Sundance Is Upon Us

We aren’t there, but we know that some of you are. Plus, I’m sure that many of you are armed with camera phones. So we want your celebrity photos from the event. Send them to us at: tips@socialitelife.celebuzz.com.

Robert Redford insists his Sundance Film Festival is still about discovering new talent despite the big studios descending on it. The festival, being held in Utah, has a reputation for launching independent films into the mainstream.

“Once the festival achieved a certain level of notoriety, then people began to come here with agendas that were not the same as ours,” Redford said. “We can’t do anything about that. We can’t control that.”

The 11-day festival opened on Thursday with the premiere of Friends with Money, a dark comedy starring Jennifer Aniston. Because of their success the big movie studios began to take notice and began holding parties and deal-making meetings on the fringes.

“Sometimes it blurred what we are doing,” said Redford. “Sundance is about storytelling. Storytellers can broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us.” He added: “We have been fortunate to work with artists who embody the independent spirit and we’re grateful to them for sharing their original stories and diverse voices.”

While Sundance is in full gear, the stars aren’t ready for their close ups yet. This was sent in by a reader:

I wanted to let you know that last night at the opening of Sundance– Frances McDormand was incredibley RUDE. She was outside the Blender party and people were going over to her and askingÂ for an autograph or to have a picture taken with her, and she would bluntly say NO! Over and over—she was really being mean about it. Then one guy took her picture anyway and she picked up some snow off the ground and threw it at him!!!

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I think that is completely appropriate behaviour for Frances McDormand. What I’m saying is in order to be an autograph seeker it is a pre-requisite to be rude, stupid , and annoying anyway. She’s just treating them back the way they deserve to be.